LAHORE, June 18 Rival lawyers on Thursday manhandled Lahore High Court Bar Association President Munawwar Iqbal Gondal, Vice President Mian Jamil Akhtar and executive committee members Muhammad Azhar Siddiq, Rashid Lodhi, Sarfraz Nawaz Naswana and Malik Khalid Awan.

The ugly incident reportedly took place when Gondal and his executive body members failed to timely conclude a meeting at the Karachi Shohada Hall which was also the venue of a gathering of Hamid Khan group lawyers.

As Gondal's meeting exceeded the allowed time, the members of Hamid khan group reportedly disrupted it and pushed Gondal and his executive body members out of the hall.

According to a complaint lodged by Mr Gondal with the Punjab Bar Council secretary, Hamid Khan group lawyers, including PBC Member Latif Hanjra, Syed Muhammad Shah, Shafqat Mahmood Choan, Zeshan Bokhari, Mubashar Latif, Chaudhry Anwar, Wali Muhammad Khan, Manzur Gilani, Ahmed Awais, Raja Zulqarnain, Fayyaz Jaffar and Malik Muhammad Hussain on Thursday entered the Karachi Shohada Hall where he was presiding over a meeting of the LHCBA Executive Committee.

Gondal alleged his opponents raised slogans against him and manhandled him and his fellow lawyers. He requested the PBC to cancel the licences of the lawyers who interfered in the meeting and manhandled the members, as they had committed professional misconduct.

Hamid Khan, when contacted, said he was in Rawalpindi and had nothing to do with the incident which had taken place due to a dispute over re-election of the LHCBA president.

The People's Lawyers Forum condemned the manhandling of Munawwar Iqbal Gondal and LHCBA executive committee members.

Forum members said Mr Gondal's conduct had been non-violent during the LHCBA dispute, but Hamid Khan group had indulged in violence and violated the bar's tradition.